[Video | Open to Both Courts]

[wipedclean]

[He looks slightly nervous. He still... doesn't do this talking thing well, and he doesn't really see the point of introducing himself to everyone. Making himself known to the entire network... showing his face on a recorded device... he's not supposed to, and it's just a bad idea for an assassin but...

But Steve said he should, so... well. He is.]

...hello.

[He swallows, his gaze flickering off to the side, where, unseen to the camera, Steve is nodding and giving him a thumbs up.]

I'm... Bucky.

[He hesitates when he says it, because... it's the first time he's said it. That he can remember.]

I was told I've been here before, but I don't remember.

[He frowns.]

So I'm sorry. If you knew me before. I don't remember you.

[He glances over to the side again, shifts, shakes his head. He's done, he doesn't want to do this anymore.]

That's it.

Comments

[starspangled]

IF it helps, he was Seelie once before. Maybe he will be again.

[desperate_times]

Ooooh, is that your plan?

Sneaky.

Can people do that?

[starspangled]

There's no plan. I just have to believe that anything's possible in a place with fairies and magic.

[desperate_times]

Have you ever known it to happen?

[starspangled]

No. Bucky's changed now, but the guy he was before is still in there too. Either way, he's still my best friend.

[wipedclean]

[He hears that, it's impossible for him not to, and he shifts in his seat slightly. It's still hard to see himself in that light, but Steve's overwhelming faith in him is... it's intense.]

[desperate_times]

He's lucky to have you.

[There are few in the world she'd rely upon and none of them are here.]

Oh, here's an idea. Why don't you change sides instead?

Then you'd be with your best friend and your girlfriend.

[It would solve all his alliance problems at once.]

[starspangled]

[Steve's expression softens at that. He feels like the luckier one lately.]

I don't really care much about either side enough to really worry about it. I'm gonna be a stone's throw away for awhile, no matter where he is.

[desperate_times]

As much as you can manage.

But what happens if the monarchs throw us all somewhere against our will? Remember the hunt for the moon?

[Unseelie had no choice. They were snatched from where they were and tossed into the tunnels.]

If something like that should happen, you might not be able to reach him. Or your girlfriend.

[Unless they were on the same side, of course. If Steve doesn't care about sides, he should be on the one that benefits him the most.]

[starspangled]

You think that's why I did that?

[Steve didn't do it because they sent him there. He didn't have a gun pointed to his head, and he didn't see one against hers either. And even if there had been...well, there's still always a choice.]

It wasn't.

[desperate_times]

I'm not talking about what was right. Yes, putting the moon back in the sky was good and proper, and I'm sure you would've done it again.

I'm talking about things we can't control.

If you think your devotion to your friend will always keep you by his side, you're wrong. Things happen. Usually when you bloody least expect it. And adorable as he is, he's the type that's balancing on the edge of a knife. Anyone could see that.

[She sighs.]

Look, Steve, I don't mean to burst your happy-funtime bubble, but this game you're playing at... stepping across lines, sooner or later it's gonna catch up with you, mate.

[How long does he expect he can play house?]

[starspangled]

You don't know him like I do.

[Steve's voice is firm, unwavering, and there's a moment where he's reminded of the warning that Sam once gave him too.

But Bucky will never be the kind of friend that Steve stops. He'll save him every damn time, and anyone who doubts that, along with the rest of Chloe's welling-meaning words, Steve has a philosophy for it all:]

We'll see.

[desperate_times]

Alright, alright.

[Stubborn as a mule. Or worse.]

But just remember, the next time you decide to fight for a seelie cause, your friend could be standing in Caer Scima's throne room with a snap of her majesty's fingers.